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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833659">Collector's Item</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlligatorPie1945/pseuds/AlligatorPie1945'>AlligatorPie1945</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Childhood Friends, Electrocution, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Missing Persons, No Romance, OC villian - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, Psychological Torture, Starvation, TCEST DNI, Torture, drugged, no beta we die like men and im scared to talk to people on the internet, no tcest they are brothers jesus christ, not a fun time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:47:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,751</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27833659</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlligatorPie1945/pseuds/AlligatorPie1945</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You see, for I am a collector of exotic creatures, rare specimens from across the globe. People pay me top dollar to witness the unnatural, the disturbing, the impossible!” The man was inches from Donatello’s face now, his smile seeming to get bigger with every inch closer.<br/>-- -- --<br/>AKA the turtles get kidnapped by a "collector" for his zoo. </p><p>Ill be updating the tags as I go along.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Welcome Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first ever fic, and Ill be honest I am more of an artist than a writer, but I thought it would be fun to try my hand at writing. So please forgive any mistakes, but I would love to hear any constructive critique though! Only way to get better is to practice.  </p><p>This was just a weird Idea that popped into my head a couple weeks ago, the main villian is an OC, but only because I couldn't think of a canon villian who could fit the bill for what I needed. He is only there to be an antagonist, the story focuses on the turtles!</p><p>**im editing the third chapter! Someone brought up some good points about the overall story! And I’m trying to rewrite it so it flows better!! Thanks for coming along on this weird learning journey with me**</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Donnie woke, he couldn’t see a thing, the ground was hard and unforgiving, and the whole place smelled like a new car. He had a vague sense that he was inside somewhere, and he could feel a familiar presence to his right, pressed close. He tried to reach out, but realized that his hands were bound behind his back. He was also just now realizing that his neck felt abnormally heavy, he couldn’t lift his head without considerable effort. </p><p> </p><p><em> Great </em>, he thought. What’s even more, his back felt particularly light. That’s when it dawned on him that all his tech, including his battle shell, were all gone. His eyes started to adjust to the darkness, and he was able to make out the turtle shaped lumps next to him. At least he wasn’t alone.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys,” he started to whisper, “Mikey, wake up. Leo? Raph?” He tried to nudge Mikey with his foot. No response, Leo and Raph were just out of reach for him to even make any effort in waking them up. His whole body felt like it had been hit by a truck, he could barely move. <em> What had happened </em> , he tried to remember, <em> we were going to April’s…  </em></p><p> </p><p>Suddenly the darkness quickly turned to blinding light. Once his eyes adjusted again, he was finally able to see more details about their situation. All his brothers, including him were handcuffed, laying on a cement floor, haphazardly tossed in a crude turtle pile. From what he could tell, it looked like they were in a large garage of sorts. Like a super garage, filled with fancy cars, plenty of tools, and a beautiful work bench. If Donnie wasn't in mortal peril, he might even be a tad jealous.</p><p> </p><p> Each of his brothers also had a somewhat large metal collar around their necks. That would explain the heaviness he felt around his own throat. Although, there seemed to be some sort of tech on their collars, exactly what, he couldn’t tell. </p><p> </p><p><em> Ugh, </em> his head hurt so much, it was hard to even think. Donnie tried to survey his brothers for injuries. Mikey, Leo and Raph looked okay, except for a couple cuts and scratches. All their weapons seemed to be missing too. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, good morning” a dreadfully cheery voice began behind Donnie, “I see we have an early riser”. </p><p> </p><p>The man who had spoken walked around the turtles, he was a tall broad young man, he wore a nice suit, polished shoes, and had an eerily perfect straight smile. His eyes were ice blue and his hair was golden blonde. He oozed confidence and looked like he would be right at home on Wall Street. He stood in front of Donnie and kneeled down. </p><p> </p><p>“My, my you are magnificent.” A finger traced Donnie's jaw, He stood and looked around, “so much potential in this room!” He walked around to each turtle, staring intensely on each of them. He never stopped smiling, he looked absolutely ecstatic.  </p><p> </p><p>“Get away from my brothers.” Donnie muttered threateningly. Still not having the energy to even sit up.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh how cute, it thinks it has a family…” the man chuckled to himself. “Shall we wake up your so called kin!” completely ignoring Donnie’s warning. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly a man in a lab coat hurried out and injected each unconscious turtle with some kind of medication. Raph was injected with two separate syringes, perhaps double the dose to make up for his size, Donnie had hoped that was the case. And just like a light that had been turned on, the remaining three turtles started to suddenly stir.  </p><p> </p><p>Mikey woke up first, Donnie tried to give him another nudge, trying to let him know that he wasn't alone and to not panic. It seemed to only half work, as Mikey began to tremble. Next Leo jolted awake, almost like waking from a nightmare. His heavy breathing being the only sound echoing through the garage, clearly trying to get his bearings. Raph was just barely moving, only being able to crack his eyes. Even being the furthest from Donnie, he could see how unfocused his eyes were. Like the lights were on but no one was home. </p><p> </p><p>“Welcome, welcome, all of you! I am so excited to finally meet you. So sorry about the rough welcome, from what I was told you four put up quite a struggle.” The well dressed man happily said. The man wouldn't stop smiling.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, people tend to struggle when they are being kidnapped” Leo replied with his usual snark, leave it to Leo to back talk to their captor. Donnie couldn't help but let a sarcastic smirk escape him. Even in circumstances like this, Leo would find a way to make a joke.  </p><p> </p><p>The man still smiling turned to Leo </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so this one seems to have an attitude, how entertaining” his smile disappearing with the last word. With machine-like precision he quickly closed the gap between the two and kneeled down and grabbed Leo’s face harshly. Leo attempted to pull away, but the man's grip was iron tight and had been too fast. The man’s hand was cold, and his nails dug into Leo’s skin. He inspected his face with a predator’s intensity. His glare was dead serious and then in an instant turned back his gleeful smile.  </p><p> </p><p>“What unique skin you have, such vibrant red and yellow markings, I think people will pay top dollar to see you.” He whispered and released Leo’s face. Donnie could tell that the man was incredibly unstable, and made a mental note not to poke the bear too much. Hopefully Leo would make the same note. </p><p> </p><p>He apparently had not.  </p><p> </p><p>“Well that was the creepiest thing anyone has ever said ever. Let me guess you're from Jersey” The red-eared slider smirked. The man’s smile disappeared once more, and was replaced with a look of pure disgust. Without warning and one swift motion, he kicked Leo directly in his face. His blue bandana nearly flew off, and he dropped to the ground, barely conscious. Instantly, Donnie and Mikey lunged towards Leo with all the strength  they had, trying to put themselves in between their blue themed brother and his attacker. </p><p> </p><p>“Why would you do something like that!” Mikey shouted, tears already forming in his eyes. Trying his best to hug his brother while also handcuffed. Donnie, finally regaining some of his energy, was able to take a more defensive stance. </p><p> </p><p>“Do that again and you'll regret it”. Donnie said, trying to appear more threatening than he currently could be with his hands tied, no tech, and barely any energy. He also noticed that Raph hadn’t moved for the entire ordeal. The red one seemed to be barely aware of what was happening, even though he was now clearly awake. <em> One problem at a time. </em>Donnie thought.  </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The man straightened himself and turned back to Donnie, he seemed to have reclaimed his happy demeanor, and acted as if he hadn't just nearly knocked Leo out. He then laughed. </p><p> </p><p> “Oh, oh no, I don’t think you understand the situation you are in.” As the man approached, Donnie felt his adrenaline fueled courage fading, the man towered over Donnie. “You four are MY pets, you have the honor of being my newest attraction, you are nothing more than my property now. And I will do whatever I want with all of you,” he shouted and pushed Donnie back onto the floor, getting louder and more animated with every step. </p><p> </p><p>“You see, for I am a collector of exotic creatures, rare specimens from across the globe. People pay me top dollar to witness the unnatural, the disturbing, the impossible!” The man was inches from Donatello’s face now, his smile seeming to get bigger with every inch closer.</p><p> </p><p> “So make yourself comfortable turtle, <em> welcome home </em>.” </p><p> </p><p>—- —- —-</p><p> </p><p>April sat by her window, waiting for her green family to show up. They weren’t normally late for movie night. And at this point, it had been over an hour past the agreed upon meet up time. It was a weekly tradition for them, switching between the lair and her house. And they wouldn’t just bail with no warning. </p><p> </p><p>She had started to worry, as much as she tried not too. She sent the group chat they were in a quick text. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> April: what’s the ETA?  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 8:03 pm  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> April: did you guys run into trouble? Splintz ground y’all? Need April to come save your sorry butts?  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 8:45 pm  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> April: alright, I’m coming to the lair, if you all aren’t there, I’m gonna be so mad.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 9:24 pm  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And with that text, April grabbed her bat and headed towards the sewer. She had a bad feeling. One way or another she was going to find her boys.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Doctor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The boys get separated and meet one of their new captors.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know I am horrible at summaries. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the wonderful comments and the Kudos! It literally made my day to know someone enjoyed reading! I hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint! Ill try and keep on updating when I get chapters done, I am having so much fun just writing! </p>
<p>Thanks again!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The man had left shortly after his little declaration, leaving the four worn-out boys alone for a few minutes. Donnie quickly checked on Leo, a deep bruise already forming on his left cheek, but he seemed to be okay, already reorienting himself. Donnie was more worried about his biggest brother, and his lack of reaction to the previous violence. He didn't quite have the strength to walk over to Raph, but he still tried his best to make his way over to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The closer he got, the more he understood why Raph was barely moving. His eyes were dilated and unfocused. Raph did not respond to anything Donnie said to him, like he wasn't even there. Suddenly he understood why the man in the lab coat had given Raph the two injections. One had clearly been a sedative of some kind, they probably realized that any physical restraint they had could be easily broken by an angry 300lb snapping turtle mutant. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was slowly dawning on Donnie how well thought out this whole kidnapping had been. Someone had done their research on them, somehow they had known about their movie night, they knew to remove all of his tech, knew how dangerous Raph could be when his family was in danger, and if Donnie had to guess, they had been moved far from the city to prevent any chance of being followed. There was still the question about these collars, although if he had to guess, they weren’t just for looks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey...Donnie...” his thoughts were interrupted by his younger brother, “do you think...are we gonna be alright?” Mikey asked, clearly trying to hold onto some semblance of hope. It nearly broke Donnie’s heart, because honestly the soft-shell wasn’t sure. This was unlike anything they had ever been through. Sure, they had defeated bad guys countless times, and even when the odds were not in their favor there always seemed to be a miracle to get them through. But this time...he wasn't so sure if they would be so lucky. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course we will.” They both turned to look at the red-eared slider, “Don’t worry Mikey, this guy is just another crazy, we will be back home and watching Lou Jitsu before you know it.” He gave Mikey a little nudge to reassure him. Leo looked at Donnie trying to get his twin to help back him up. “Right, Donnie?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...yeah of course we will.” He sighed back with an empty smile on his lips. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment of silence, Leo looked to Raph, who up until this point had just been vacantly staring at the wall “Whats wrong with him?” he questioned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not exactly sure, but in my very humble opinion, I would say that they sedated him, to keep him from tearing this whole place apart. He should be fine, he just will be out of it for a while.” Donnie explained. Leo nodded in understanding.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before anything else could be said one of the many garage doors began to open. A group of ten or so men poured in, most armed with large guns. They broke into four groups and surrounded the turtles. Before anyone could do anything to defend themselves, each ninja teen was shot with a tranq dart. The last thing Donnie saw was Leo mouthing the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’ll be okay, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and his world went black. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>--- --- ---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>April knew that the guys would be able to handle anything thrown their way. They had literally defeated Shredder only a couple months ago. Granted that was no walk in the park, but they had still managed to win. She knows that all this worry was for nothing, Raph had probably just forgotten to charge his phone. Or Mikey used all the phones for an art thing. Although, that did seem unlikely.  It was probably fine, there had to be some super logical explanation to why they were currently MIA. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Traffic? Splinter? A rando mutant? It had to be one of those. Regardless she was sure it was harmless. Still, ever since the Shredder, she had felt her big sister protectiveness on high alert, and worried a lot easier. She just couldn't quite shake the feeling that something horrible had happened. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was approaching the alleyway they always use to get onto the roofs, the one right by the pizza place. Everything seemed normal, it wasn't until she was about a few feet away from the alley entrance that she noticed it. Laying on the ground, hidden by the shadows was a small pile of purple metal shards. The very same purple that matched her green companion’s tech, specifically his battle shell. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had listened to enough lectures from him about his prized shell that she knew that pieces did not tend to just fly off on their own. Something had hit his shell hard enough to break a part of it off. All her fears started to come right back up. Time to call again for like the 5th time tonight. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please, please pick up...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As she waited anxiously for anyone to answer, she was startled when the trash bag beside her started to vibrate. She knew what that meant, even if she didn't want to believe it. She slowly reached around the trash, and there, clear as day, was Donnie’s phone. Left forgotten in the alley. Her heart dropped. They were in serious trouble. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She needed to find Splinter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>--- --- --- </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leo was starting to get tired of waking up in strange places. They had been moved to a lab of sorts, or at least that was his best guess. The walls were almost blindingly white and and the shelves were littered with an assortment of medical supplies, there was also a large metal examination table in the center. His handcuffs had been removed, instead he now was in a large metal cage, the heavy collar was still around his neck though. They had removed his belt and side bags, but had left his gloves, socks, and bandanna. Mikey and Donnie were also in the room, in each of their own cages. They were also awake, Donnie looked to be lost in thought, and Mikey was facing the wall, probably trying to hide from this whole horrible situation. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Raph was nowhere to be seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That worried him more than the cages, the collars, or the freaky lab. They needed to stay together if they were gonna get out of this. He couldn’t panic now though, his two remaining brothers needed him to remain calm. He never considered himself a leader, but he did understand the importance of not losing your cool when a situation got out of hand. There was a reason he cracked so many jokes at the seemingly worse times, he needed something to keep himself sane. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The lab door quickly opened and a short woman wearing a lab coat walked in, her hair was tied back in a tight bun, she held a clipboard in her hands and was studying it intently. The man from before followed directly behind her. He had changed and was now wearing a more business casual attire. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How long have we been out</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The specimens are remarkable, they shouldn't biologically be able to work, and yet here they are. Wherever did you find such anomalies?” The woman asked, still looking at her notes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“New York, they had been living in the sewers, completely hidden from the general population.” The man replied. “My team and I had been searching for sewer creatures after we heard a couple reports of some mysterious sightings, but we never imagined we would find these things!” He still had the same chaotic joy he had in the garage, like a child getting to open presents on Christmas. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fascinating,” she put her clipboard down and moved closest to Leo’s cage, staring at every inch of him, it made Leo extremely self conscious and uncomfortable. “And the color coordinated clothes? Was that also your doing? Something for your audience?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha, no! They came that way! I think it’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable</span>
  </em>
  <span> and it will do wonders for audience appeal, the purple one even has eyebrows! Who would even think to do that!” He pointed at Donnie’s cage, whom had currently tucked himself as far as he could into a corner.    </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, his eyebrows are great.” A small voice escaped the middle cage, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mikey</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He also had been hiding in the back of his cage as well. But even he wouldn’t allow for his brother to be mocked right in front of him. However he soon realized his mistake, all attention shifted directly to him. He tried to hide a shell, however the collar was preventing his head from disappearing completely. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman walked over to him, “You didn't tell me they TALKED! Daniel this is HUGE, they are intelligent, the amount of information we can collect, what a discovery!” she turned her attention to Mikey, and spoke in the most patronizing baby voice Leo had ever heard, “Hey there buddy, my name is Dr.Jacobs, we will be getting to spend a lot of time together.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikey peeked his head out a little more, unsure of this so-called doctor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don't get too attached, I'm not paying you to make friends, just gather what info you need and have them ready by the end of the week.” Daniel said cutting off the small interaction, his more intense side peeking out, “These creatures are going to make me a fortune and whatever you can get out of them just sweetens the deal.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” she replied. “You had mentioned there was a fourth one?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah yes, our soon to be showstopper!  Follow me dear doctor!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And with that, the two left the room. Leaving the three turtle teens alone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We may be in more trouble than I thought… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Leo worried to himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>--- --- ---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All Raph remembered was leaving the lair to go to April’s, they had made it past the pizza place and were going through an alley, Donnie was hit, and then nothing. His head was groggy and every time he tried to move, his whole world went spinning. He was getting small flashes of being thrown into a garage of sorts, his brothers were there, Leo was hurt, he couldn't do anything… he wanted to scream, his brothers were in danger and he could barely keep his head up without vomiting. He was useless. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unlike his brothers, Raph was in a tiny room, with seemingly no doors, no windows, all it had was a two way mirror on one of the walls. Raph was completely alone and he could do nothing about it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>--- --- --- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah..” Dr. Jacobs let out, “he is massive.” Both her and Daniel had come into a side room to the cell that housed the biggest turtle. All that was standing in the way between them and a literal monster was a 2 inch of glass.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know! And people are going to love him because of it. He is what I have been looking for, a monster to really frighten my audience. Everyone loves a good thrill ride. He is going to triple my profits. Now you just have to figure out how exactly to control him, I need him to frighten people, but from what my resources have told me, he isn’t too terrifying on his own. He will need some kind of motivation. I was thinking-” Daniel began to ramble. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To be honest she was only half listening. She could barely believe the size of the red bandana wearing creature in front of her, his shell spikes were scarlily impressive, everything about the creature was itmindating. However, he wasn't acting monstrous, in fact he looked downright terrified and lost. A small part of her felt bad for the thing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had been working for Daniel for years now, and while working for a young, probably clinically insane, billionaire could be trying at times. She wouldn’t trade the job for anything, how many other scientists (okay, technically she was a cryptozoologist, but still a real scientist in her mind) got practically free range on the world's most secret and elusive oddities? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the years a routine had been established. Daniel would hire a team to search out and hunt down some rare, almost always mythical creature, once they had it, it would be brought to her. There she would have a week or so to analyze, study, and dissect the creature. As long as she didnt kill it, she could do pretty much whatever she wanted. Daniel always wanted the most accurate information to share with his guests, it also would help with controlling the beasts. Then the creature would be given back to him and he would showcase them in his zoo, although at times it felt more like a circus. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He would allow guests to interact with the monsters, his showings were incredibly exclusive, expensive, and secret. Only the richest and most elite would be able to attend. Jacobs didn't even know who exactly attended, since she was never invited. After a month or two, she would almost never see the creatures again. She had no idea what would happen to them, only that the most spectacular stayed with Daniel permanently in his “zoo”. But most, once their “wow factor” had gone away and Daniel had grown bored, they were disposed of, in one way or another.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jacobs!” Daniel was nearly shouting at this point, jolting her out of her train of thought. “Listen, woman! I want these monsters tamed, use that psycho brain I hired you for and get creative. I’ll be back in 7 days and I want some exciting results!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jacobs nodded and returned to stare at the giant snapping turtle. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Time to get to work.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Warning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The turtles and Dr. Jacobs start to learn a little more about each other.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, well I have finally returned from the depths. This chapter is a little shorter, buts that's because I split it into two chapters. It's not perfect, but here ya go anyway. **Warnings** there is some violence in this chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite the cold steel of their cages and the uncomfortable nature of their collars, things were not nearly as horrible as they could be. They had been in the lab for a day or so, although it was hard to tell, given the lack of windows or clocks.</p><p>The so called doctor that had been charged with their care was proficient in her work, she had run various tests on them without incident. For the most part they had been simple; blood work, urine tests, x-rays, general exams, and so on. She did her best to keep a strictly professional environment, clearly trying to keep to a schedule and ignoring the many snide remarks she had received from her subjects.  </p><p>Although Donnie could see right through her façade, Dr. Jacobs was having the time of her life studying them. Scientists are one in the same, they long for knowledge more than anything, and as much as Donnie hated to admit it, he and his brothers were impressive subjects to the average person. </p><p>But it was also crystal clear that she and her team had no idea what they were doing. They kept giving him and his brothers trays of little brown pellets and various other assortments of “turtle” food. Donnie had been given a plate full of  pellets and a dead fish for the last three meals. By the third meal, he had enough.  </p><p>“You know that we do eat human food, prefer it actually.” He had stated, pushing the tray of food away. </p><p>“Really?” She grabbed her clipboard, “what exactly? Where do you find it?”. </p><p>“Yes, really.” He rolled his eyes, “We eat everything that you eat. Pizza would have to be our favorite though, so if you have any of that laying around that would be great. And we buy it? Or make it, Mikey is a master in the kitchen.” Donnie replied, Mikey perked up a little at the compliment from his brother. </p><p>“Pizza?” Jacobs stopped writing, “and...and you buy it? How on earth do you manage that? What money do you have? How do you pick it up?”. </p><p>“Just like people do, but like with a big hoodie.” Leo sarcastically muttered from across the room. </p><p>“But none of you are people, you’re giant turtle things! It's amazing that you can even speak, and now you are claiming you eat pizza? And pick it up?” Dr. Jacobs was dumbfounded.</p><p>“I assume your boss doesn't normally bring you beings like us?” Donnie said with an eyebrow raised. </p><p>“No. Not typically.” She got quieter, staring at her clip board with a new intensity. “I’ll try and get you some better suited food.” </p><p>She left the room without another word, flicking the main light off as she went.   </p><p>“Well goodnight then, I guess…” Leo called after her.  </p><p> </p><p>The next day Dr. Jacobs returned with a team of people. One was pushing a large cart that they placed in the corner of the room. They also brought with them more trays of food, instead of tasteless brown pellets, the trays had oatmeal, sausage, and eggs. Not the most exciting breakfast, but better than pet food. </p><p>Jacobs stood in front of the cages, watching the turtle teens scarf down their food. Much more eager to eat now that they had “real” food. Mikey never thought he would ever be so happy to see a bowl of half cooked oatmeal and be so happy about it.</p><p> Once they had finished, she sighed and turned to whisper something to one of her assistants. </p><p>“Listen here you three, every creature that comes into this facility gets an ID number. It is how we keep track of you, keep record of you, and it is what we will have to refer to you as.” She told them. </p><p>Donnie felt a heavy weight in his stomach, something about her tone was worrying him. And that cart they brought it, didn't seem to be carrying typical lab equipment.</p><p>“It would be easiest, if you cooperate and we will try to make this as painless as possible.”</p><p>She started to put on gloves and continued, “We will be permanently marking you with the number, we do this for every creature we see here and this is just procedu-”.</p><p>“YOU’RE TATTOOING US?” Leo yelled. </p><p>“It needs to be done.” She was clearly avoiding meeting any of their eyes. “We will start with the blue one first.” She ordered her team. </p><p>Two of the larger assistants went over to Leos cage and managed to grab him through the bars. They pulled him to the edge of the prison, pushing him against the cold steel and restricting his movement. A third person came over, pulling his arm between the bars.</p><p>“Guys, guys let's think about this, can’t we talk it out, why not a nice bracelet instead?” Leo was starting to let the panic slip into his voice. </p><p>Dr. Jacobs gave a nod of approval and a fourth man came over armed with a small tattoo gun, he ripped off Leo’s glove and began to work. </p><p>Leo gritted his teeth and made a promise to himself that he wasn’t going to let them hear anything more than a whimper. The entire process probably took less than 5 minutes, but god did it feel like forever. When they were done they released him, he quickly retracted into the far corner of his small prison. </p><p>He held his wrist close to his chest, still trying to put on a strong face for his brothers. Mikey was staring at him with great concern in his eyes, and he tried to reach out to Leo. But was caught by the entourage of lab assistants. Leo quickly forgot his pain and tried to help defend his brother. But he was just out of reach to be any help. </p><p>Mikey had always been vocal about pain, and this time was no different. He cried and yelled, trying to get them to stop the needle assault occurring on his wrist. Dr. Jacobs was standing behind the scene, trying to distance herself from the forced tattooing. </p><p>“Look at them.” Donnie was staring at her. “Not used to branding sentient beings? Or just not used to hurting kids?” there was no humor in his voice. She looked at him at the last remark with mournful eyes. For a moment Donnie felt a tinge of empathy for her, but it was quickly broken by another one of Mikey’s screams. She turned away quickly.  </p><p>They had just finished with Mikey, and were starting to move over to Donnie. Mikey had retreated to the side closest to Leo, turning his back to the rest of the room. Leo was whispering something to him, trying to reach out and comfort his baby brother. </p><p>“Because that’s what we are. Kids.” They grabbed Donnie’s arm. </p><p>Jacobs looked over to the other two turtles, and saw the hidden tears that Leo was quickly wiping away, and Mikey’s shaking form. She looked back at Donnie, and saw him clench his teeth and wince from the pain. </p><p>Her team finished, and began to clean up.</p><p>Donnie moved to try and be closer to his brothers. He looked down at his wrist and saw crudely written on the anterior of his wrist 0103. When he looked back into the room, only Dr. Jacobs was left standing. Still staring at them. </p><p>“Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Leo spat at her. </p><p>Her gaze shifted to him and then down to his wrist which he was still clutching. </p><p>“I’m…” She began quietly but then quickly shook her head and changed her tone, “It had to be done, and we must move on, lots to do.” She then left the room without another word. <br/>A couple hours passed and she returned alone, with a large journal. “Since we have never had creatures such as yourselves before, I figured we could skip more of the general tests we run and I could just ask you for the answers we need.” She walked over to Mikey’s cage and pulled up a chair, trying to act like this morning's events hadn’t happened. </p><p>“Let’s start with you 0102,” she smiled, “can you tell me how old you are?”</p><p>Mikey just stared at her, retreating as far back as he could.</p><p>“Oh come now,” her voice was gentle, “We just want to get to know you all a little better.” Donnie couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh at that. “0102 could you please tell me where you and your friends came from?”</p><p>“Brothers.” Mikey mumbled, “and my name is Michelangelo.”</p><p>She jotted some notes down and looked back to the orange turtle, “My mistake, can you tell me where you and your brothers came from? Do you have parents?”</p><p>Mikey turned to look at her, all he could think about in that moment was how much he wanted Splinter, and how much he wanted to give him the biggest hug and never let go. “We have a dad.” he responded quietly. </p><p>“Really? And what is he like? What kind of turtle?” She was trying to seem intrigued, but the thought of a bigger turtle man than them, than the red one, made her heart skip a few beats. </p><p>“Why don’t you answer some questions we have before we answer any more of yours.” Leo spoke up, coming out from the shadows of his crude enclosure. “Like first off, where the hell is Raph, what did you sickos do to him?” </p><p>“Raph?” Dr. Jacobs turned to Leo looking puzzled, “The snapping turtle?  Raph as in Raphael? Wait, and Michelangelo? What are your names?”</p><p>Leo rolled his eyes, she completely focused on the wrong part of what he was trying to say. “I’m Leonardo and he is Donatello, now back--”</p><p>“All renaissance painters? Your father knew about the renaissance? How on earth is that possible?” She cut him off “Just remarkable, how intelligent are you?” The last part she said under her breath.  </p><p>“Very.” Donnie said from across the room. Dr. Jacobs was silent for a moment, staring at her notes and looking at each one of the boys sitting in front of her. She sighed, got up and went to lock the door to the lab. When she returned back to the cages she sat back down and put her journal to the side. </p><p>“Your brother is safe. He is being held in a separate room with more security, due to his size we can’t risk him breaking out.” She refused to look any of them in the eyes. “You four are in a very dangerous situation.” </p><p>“Yeah, no duh.” Leo replied.</p><p>“I need you to understand what I’m saying, the man that brought you here; Daniel. Is a very unpredictable person, with a special hatred of beings like yourselves.” She continued.</p><p>“But we never did anything to him, before all this we never even met the guy!” Mikey cried out.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, I don’t know the whole story, but from what I understand there was a pretty big scandal with him years ago. Said he was attacked by a monster, but no one believed him. He lost all his credibility, business, everything. I’ve heard even his family disowned him. It drove him insane and since then he has dedicated his entire life to proving the world wrong. A couple years ago he hired me, basically gave me a chance to study mysterious creatures when everyone else laughed at me.” she kept checking over her shoulder, like someone was going to appear out of thin air. </p><p>“So why doesn’t he just expose us, and all the other creatures he has apparently found? Just broadcast us to the world.” Donnie inquired. </p><p>“Well he did, or at least he attempted to, his very first catch was a creature similar to a Chupacabra, and when he revealed it to the world, he was laughed at. Was told it was a fake, and that he was just desperately trying to clear his name.” The turtles had been inching forward during her speech and were now all at the edges of their cages. </p><p>“That’s when he came up with the idea of this whole operation, he would invite powerful people to meet the creatures up close, then there could be no denying the truth. And since the public wouldn’t have access to his “zoo”, then he would hold the power. It took some time, but eventually his plan started to work.” She then grew quiet. </p><p>“But, his creatures don't always last long here. Like I said he has a temper and real dislike of subjects brought here. And… he can get out of hand. I can’t explain this to most of the animals, but you three I can tell you. Don't aggravate him, follow directions, and if you're lucky you will get to stay here-”</p><p>“But we want to go home!” Mikey yelled, “Just let us out now! He’s not even here!”</p><p>“I..I can’t. Just please cooperate. Daniel always gets his animals to behave…” </p><p>Mikey whimpered, and Leo and Donnie exchanged worried looks. The room was at a standstill, but then Dr. Jacobs stood up, unlocked the door and grabbed her journal once more. And started the questioning once more.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pizza</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's amazing what a good meal can do.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, here ya go.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Dr. Jacobs was finished gathering information from the three smaller turtles, although it wasn’t nearly enough information needed. She still had no idea their origins, or who, where, or what their father was. She would need a way to get some answers out of them. Even though they were difficult, she was able to get their actual ages, some specifics about their species, and what all that purple machinery was on the soft shell. She couldn’t get him to shut up about the tech. All though she was amazed to find how smart he really was, clearly on an entirely different level then the others. The more time she had spent with them, the more it became clear that the brothers weren’t mysterious creatures at all. </p>
<p>She felt disgusted at herself, after the tattooing from earlier she could barely keep herself from throwing up, her stomach twisted in knots during the entire ordeal. At least when they had marked 0104, he had been unconscious. Donnie -- No, 0103 had made a good point, she would never hurt children, and yet she had done exactly that. No, no… don't get attached, they aren’t kids, they are anthropomorphic, scientifically-impossible, talking turtle things. </p>
<p>She warned them about Dan, that would give them some chance. Maybe he would just let them live a comfy life as a show animal. That wasn’t so bad, they probably were living a rough life anyway. No home, family, and outcast from society. Sounds a little familiar. She rolled her eyes at herself and tried to shake away the growing feeling of guilt. That was no way for anyone to live, even the non-sentient creatures that lived here were miserable. </p>
<p>She was making her way to where 0104 was being held. She needed to observe him as well, perhaps he was as intelligent as the other three. And if he was, he was probably , completely alone, and unable to think straight; thanks to the constant sedation they had him on. </p>
<p>When she arrived at the tightly sealed door, she heard a large amount of thrashing from inside. She opened the door into the concealed observatory side room and nearly dropped her paperwork. The large turtle was in a frenzy, slamming his body against every wall. The two-way glass was holding up for now, but for how long, she didn’t know. </p>
<p>She crept inside, knowing she would remain hidden from his sight. The closer she got to the rampaging creature, the more she noticed that his eyes had rolled back. Leaving his eyes white and savage. She stared at him, losing herself in awe of the raw power on display. </p>
<p>After a particularly big hit, a small crack started to form in the glass. Her breathing hitched, paralyzed by fear she was unable to look away. Another hit and the crack grewer ever so larger. That was enough to shake the doctor from her panic and was able to run to the panic button installed behind her, alerting security of a breach. While she waited for reinforcements to arrive she searched frantically for the collar remote tucked somewhere in her multiple pockets. Each turtle had one as a security measure in case of escape. </p>
<p>She felt her fingers graze the surface of the remote, Raph let out a terrifying roar and slammed once more onto the weakening glass, shaking the whole room. Dr.Jacobs fell back from the tremor. The glass was at its breaking point,as Raph pulled back for another hit she was able to grab the remote and activate it. </p>
<p>The reaction was instant, a powerful electrical current ran through his body radiating from the collar. Raphs whole body went rigid and then crumbled. He lay on the ground curled up and twitching. Seconds later the security team ran in, one of them offered Jacobs a hand, her breathing heavy and her whole body shaking from the adrenaline. Having a moment to compose herself she walked to the glass and observed the cracked glass. </p>
<p>“That glass is 6 inches thick, and he was sedated, he shouldn't have been able to even scratch it.” She mumbled to herself. </p>
<p>The specimen himself was still unconscious on the floor, a sporadic tremor every now and then jolted through his limbs. </p>
<p>“We will need to move him, until we can get this glass fixed, and will someone give him another couple doses of sedation. I do not want him waking up anytime soon.” She told the nearest goon.</p>
<p>These turtles had only been here two days and had already caused her more than enough trouble. Why couldn't Dan find a unicorn or something like that, she bitterly thought. </p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Mikey was the first to smell them, and he thought he was dreaming. Cheesy garlicky smells were invading his dreams and he began to drool. When he cracked his eye, his heart skipped a beat, clear as day, were three large gourmet pizzas sitting right in front of him. He pinched himself to double check that it wasn’t a dream. He bolted up and crawled to the edge of his prison. </p>
<p>So enamored by the enchanting smell he completely missed Dr. Jacobs standing in the room. </p>
<p>“Well that certainly was quick, I had barely placed them down before you woke up.” She chuckled to herself and came around the table to get closer to Mikey. “How are you this morning?” </p>
<p>“About to be a whole lot better,” Mikey was still staring at the pizza, “If you would just hand over a pieeeccceeee.” He reached as far as he could and was shooed away by the doctor. </p>
<p>“Before I give any pizza I will be needing a little more cooperation from the lot of you.” She gestured over to the remaining turtles. Donnie and Leo had woken up and were also hungrily starting at the food. “You only have a few days left with me, and I need to get some more answers from you all. So in exchange for some information, I’ll give you pizza. Which you better appreciate, this is hard to come by around here.” She patted the stacked boxes.</p>
<p>“Do we have a deal?”</p>
<p>The three brothers looked at each other with hesitation, Mikey wanted pizza so bad, but he also didn’t want to risk exposing any of their friends or father to her. It probably couldn’t hurt to give vague information, just enough to get a slice. He looked at Donnie and Leo for silent approval. They seemed equally hesitant, but after some prolonged eye contact and a slight nod, Leo spoke first.</p>
<p>“Fine, you have a deal. But Mikey gets the first slice.” Mikey’s heart swelled with love for his brother and he could barely stop himself from smiling. </p>
<p>“Perfect,” she opened the first box; vegetarian, Mikey’s favorite. “We will start with something simple. You said your brother was 15, have you all been living in New York that entire time? How have you managed to stay hidden for so long?” She looked to Mikey, fingers hovering over a fresh slice of pizza. </p>
<p>“Oh that's easy, we have been studying ninjutsu for years. You know the art of stealth and kicking butt.” Mikey grinned and made a karate chop motion.</p>
<p>“Ninjas?” she pinched her nose, “Now you are telling me you are teenage ninja turtle men?” </p>
<p>“That's about the jist of it” Donnie replied sarcastically.</p>
<p>Mikey was growing impatient and reached out once more for a slice of pizza.</p>
<p>“Ahh, yes, I suppose I owe you a slice.” Dr. Jacobs prepared a slice for Mikey. She was barely able to slip the piece between the bars on his cage before we snatched it and started munching. Mikey loved pizza, but he never knew how good it could taste until that moment. For just a moment, he wasn’t stuck in a terrifying cage, separated from his brothers. He was back home, safe and warm surrounded by his family. But soon reality hit again, and he was back in the lab with the doctor. </p>
<p>“And who trained you?” She continued to question. </p>
<p>“Lou Jitsu.” Mikey smiled between bites.</p>
<p>“The movie star,” she rolled her eyes, “There isn’t going to be anymore pizza if you three dont start telling the truth.”</p>
<p>“No really! We used to watch all his movies growing up! Our dad made us watch them and you can learn a lot from them!” Mikey pleaded, not wanting to lose the chance at pizza. <br/>Jacobs' ears perked up at the mention of their father. “Let’s talk about your dad. Tell me more about him?”</p>
<p>“Um, well- you see,” Mikey stumbled over his words trying to think of a way of not telling the scientist of a kidnapping collector about their equally scientifically exciting rat dad.</p>
<p>“He’s dead.” Donnie spoke up, interrupting Mikey’s train of thought. “He was a human that took us in at a young age, and he died a few years ago.” </p>
<p>“Really?” Her attention taken off Mikey, “Is that why you four were living in the sewers?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, we have been homeless ever since.” Donnie continued, “Trying to survive anyway we can, using what little knowledge we gained from him to make life easier.” </p>
<p>“I am sorry to hear that.” Mikey could tell that she spoke from a genuine place. She had lost someone close to her too.</p>
<p>“Do you know where you came from? If your father adopted you four, does that mean you were created in a lab?”</p>
<p>“You’re guess is as good as ours lady” Leo said. </p>
<p>“Mmmm, fair enough, and are there others like you?”</p>
<p>“No.” They all answered almost unanimously. She then gave a slice to Donnie and Leo for their cooperation. </p>
<p>“And your brother? Why does he not talk like you? Why is he so different?” She had brought out a notebook at this point.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Mikey asked, “Raph talks just as much as us?”</p>
<p>“Are you guys STILL drugging him?” Donnie asked with just a hint of panic, “I thought you had just moved him to a more secure room?”</p>
<p>“Well, yes. He nearly destroyed the ‘secure’ room last night. You can’t expect us not to keep him medically restrained.” She retorted back. </p>
<p>“You don’t think that much drugging could be having a negative effect on his cognitive abilities!?” Donnie was at the edge of his bars now, “You got to let him clear his head! Sounds like he has already started acting savage!”</p>
<p>“That’s certainly a word for it.” She mumbled, “does he often go ‘savage’ as you say.”</p>
<p>“NO! Well, unless of course he is left alone for too long. But that shouldn't be a problem here, oh wait, that's right you have already separated him from us for days.” Donnie spat. </p>
<p>“He is being closely monitored. He is in good hands” She tried to calm the purple one down. </p>
<p>“What?! Yours!? Literal kidnappers!? Yeah those are the safest hands around!” This time Leo shouted from across the room. </p>
<p>“Look we are trying the best we can--”</p>
<p>She was interrupted by the creak of the opening door.</p>
<p> Silhouetted by the halls bright white lights stood Daniel. Still in a crisp clean suit with his hair slicked back. He walked into the room more focused on straightening his tie then on everyone else frozen in place. Watching his every move as he slowly made his way to the table and the half eaten pizzas.  </p>
<p>“So now we are feeding test subjects...pizza?” He looked at Dr. Jacobs, “Really Sara, I thought you were better than this.” </p>
<p>“Well, I thought it would be a good motivator to get answers out of them.” She was quiet, avoiding his eyes. </p>
<p>“Oh do tell? What has treating these monsters like people done for your research? I’m sure it’s groundbreaking!” He had closed the gap between himself and her. Leo, Donnie, and Mike just watched in uneasy silence. </p>
<p>“Um, well not much at the moment.” Daniel did not move, clearly unsatisfied with her answer, “But I have found out that they were raised by a human, there are no other creatures like them, um, the purple one is smart.” Her mind was drawing a blank and she gave an uneasy smile.</p>
<p>Daniel stood back and stared at her, then like a switch had been pressed sprang forward with chaotic energy.  </p>
<p>“Well, Congratulations!” He shouted, “For finding out a bunch of LIES!” He quickly turned to Mikey’s cage and rattled it with all his strength. “I know about your filthy rodent father and don’t think I forgot about your disgusting human friend.” Mikey felt his stomach drop as well as the last bits of his pizza. “Any human that willinging interacts with monsters like yourselves is a traitor to their own race. And the purple one isn’t smart, he is stealing some real scientist’s work” He spat into Donnie’s face.</p>
<p>Turning back to Jacobs, “It’s been three days, and all you have accomplished is allowing yourself to be tricked by lesser creatures and losing control of the other!” He continued his rant, backing Jacobs into a corner. </p>
<p>“Don’t you think we knew all that before we captured them! We had been survalling them for months! The only reason we don't have the rat is because he never leaves that ridiculously highly secure sewer lair.” He went to the table, and threw the remaining pizza off the table. “I wanted you to find out their biological secrets, not become their best friends! I thought we solved this problem already!” </p>
<p>“As for you three, you think it’s cute to lie, funny to make a fool of my top scientist.” He was quite animated now, gesturing his arms erratically. “Well, I will teach you to disrespect me or my staff.” He looked back at the trashed pizza strewn across the floor. And turned back to the ashamed looking doctor. </p>
<p>“No food for the next three days, and I want you to start the endurance tests next.” He walked to Leo’s cage. “I want to see what my pets are actually made of.” </p>
<p>Daniel was eye level with Leo, staring him down like a predator. Leo was filled with so much hate in that moment that he could barely contain it. This man had taken his brothers from their home, separated and drugged Raph, insulted Donnie, and now was going to make life worse for them. Deep down he knew what he was about to do was a bad idea, but before he could stop himself he spit the biggest wad of chewed pizza he could manage right into Daniel’s face. Hit him square between the eyes.  </p>
<p>Dr.Jacobs groaned weakly, Mikey gasped, and Donnie laughed. Daniel stood up, wiped the food off his face. And was completely motionless for a moment. Then he spoke in the softest voice Leo had heard yet. “Since the purple one thinks it so funny, he won't be getting any food for a week. And you,” He leaned over once more, careful this time to give himself some distance between himself and Leo, “I want him put on the island tomorrow morning.”</p>
<p>Jacobs stood up straight at his words with a look of concern on her face. “For how long sir?”.</p>
<p>“Until I feel he is ready to behave.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Waiting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I feel like this chapter is more to help set up future chapters. I may have to go back and edit it, but nonetheless here you all go! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week since the boys had gone missing. And April had never had a week more stressful, full of non stop panic and worry. She had barely slept since they disappeared, and she was pretty sure Splinter hadn’t slept at all. Her life had been put completely on hold, she was missing school, avoiding her parents, and had completely given up on her many odd jobs. She didn't care about any consequences at the moment. Her family was missing and she wasn’t going to rest until they were found. </p><p>April and Splinter had tracked down and asked every friend, foe, and ‘it's complicated’ they could. They checked out the battle nexus; nothing. Double checked Hueso’s Pizzeria; double nothing, and even went as far as New Jersey; and still nothing. No one knew a thing. </p><p>Sunita, Casey, and Draxum had also been aiding in the search, but all their leads had come back cold as well. Whoever took the turtles had done a clean job. Besides the few shards of Donnie's battle shell and his phone, nothing was left at the scene of the crime. They had nothing to go off of. </p><p>And after a week of searching, April was exhausted. </p><p>She found herself alone in Donnie’s dark lab, which was becoming a common occurrence these past couple days. Out of all the turtles she and Donnie were definitely closest. She loved them all, but there was no denying that Donnie was her best friend. And just being in the lair and in his lab, helped make her feel less alone. She sat in his chair and stared at the multiple dark screens around her. Maybe there was some clue to where they were here? Maybe Donnie knew something was coming? Had some kind of back up plan? She silently begged the large dark room to give her something, anything. But the room stayed silent. </p><p>“We will find them.” A voice interrupted her depressive thoughts. Splinter was in the doorway, and went to switch on the lights. “Sitting in the dark won’t help anyone though.” </p><p>“Hey Splintz,” she barely moved to acknowledge him, “Sorry, I kinda let myself in.” </p><p>“It’s quite alright.” He walked over to April, “Come, let me make us some tea.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure…” She took one more long look at the lifeless room and followed Master Splinter to the kitchen. </p><p>Splinter set his new  kettle on the stove and waited for the water to warm up. The new one was a nice teal color with a neat hand painted Hamato Clan symbol on it’s side. It was a present to him from Mikey. </p><p>Mikey had been so proud of it, he could barely contain his excitement when he gave the wrapped kettle to him. Apparently all four of them had pitched in to buy the actual tea pot, but Mikey had made it very clear that it had been his idea, and his gift. Splinter couldn't help tearing up remembering his sons and their daily shenanigans. The lair was so quiet now.</p><p> He quickly wiped away his tears and went to collect the tea bags and mugs needed for the tea. </p><p>“We must be missing something.” April mumbled. She was leaning on the kitchen island, head in her hands. “They are out there somewhere. How did they just disappear without a trace?”. </p><p>Splinter paused what he was doing, “I’m not sure.” he sighed, “I should have prepared them better, I should have done more.” His back still turned to April. “I’ve failed my sons.” </p><p>“Their training is probably the only thing giving them a fighting chance.” April tried to cheer him up, which was difficult to do when her spirits felt equally poor. </p><p>The kettle started to whistle.</p><p>“Perhaps you have a point.” He replied, and continued to prepare the tea. “My sons may be undisciplined, but they can be quite capable and resourceful when needed.” He seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than April. </p><p>April knew her boys were tougher than they looked, as long as they stayed together, not much could stop their chaotic force. That’s what worried her the most, the thought that they may be separated or hurt or...no I can’t afford to think like that. </p><p>“What I don’t get is how did Donnie not prepare for something like this, he seems to have contingency plans for everything. Some crazy tech to fix any problem. I mean I once saw him put two trackers in salami paper, because he knew Raph would eat one-” She stopped mid sentence, then she jumped up and raced out the room. Nearly knocking Splinter and the hot tea over. </p><p>“Wait! April?!” Splinter set the tea on the table and ran after her. “Where are you going?”</p><p>April didn’t answer, she just kept running, making a beeline back to Donnie’s lab. When she got there she ran to the back and started turning on every computer she could find. When Splinter arrived shortly after, she was already searching the main computer. </p><p>“I’m so stupid. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier. And thank you Donnie for never changing your password.” April was muttering to herself. She started to frantically go through the files on Donnie’s computer.  </p><p>“April, what has gotten into you? What did you figure out?” Splinter was slightly out of breath when he made it next to her. </p><p>“After that first mission they went on, remember, the one with the paper thieves. Yeah, well Donnie realized that they might start getting into actual trouble with all the apparent crime fighting they were gonna start doing. So he started working on panic button type things, in case anyone ever got in over their head and needed help. And I remember he had said that he had also added trackers to them, as an extra precaution. He designed them so they would fit in those weird little turtle icons they all wear. I remember he was really proud of himself for thinking about that.” She continued searching through the files. </p><p>“And I only know all this because I found out he had added the same thing to my phone and was apparently tracking me. Which in hindsight is kinda thoughtful, but also hella creepy, and I had already told him to quit messing with my phone.” She chuckled recalling their silly meaningless argument, “Anyway, apparently he had put it on my phone as like a test run, said it was still in beta testing and wasn’t quite ready to tell his brothers, something about it messing up his ‘uncaring bad boy’ image he is always trying to maintain.” She rolled her eyes when she said that. </p><p>“Okay, okay, so do you know if the tracker things ever got out of the testing stage?” Splinter asked, trying to prevent any false hope from infiltrating his mind.  </p><p>“That’s what I’m hoping. This all happened months ago. And I’m sure he still has the plans since he never- HAH!” April jumped in the air. “Here! Here they are!” She pulled up a file folder marked Mission - Safeguards. She scanned the documents as quick as she could, trying to see if there was any indication he made it farther than the spying on her phone. </p><p>Data Log was bound to have some records of his plans. She was brought to a bunch of different video logs each with different dates, Donnie did  love to hear himself talk, especially when it was about science. She looked for the most recent one, it had only been updated only a few weeks prior.</p><p>She looked at Splinter and they both were silent. This was the biggest chance they had right now of finding the boys. She clicked the video. </p><p>***<br/>Date: 07/25/2020</p><p>Data Log: 10</p><p>So after the completely unfair and unjust scolding I received from April I had decided to take a break on this little project. Apparently it’s “Creepy” to track your family and friends-<br/>***</p><p>April was nearly in tears, there on screen was Donnie. She knew it was recording, but it had been so long since she had heard his voice or seen his face and drawn on eyebrows. She missed them so much it hurt. And just hearing his voice was enough to put her over the edge, all her worry, anxieties, and helpless came forward in full force. </p><p>It was not easy to make her cry, in fact she could barely remember the last time she actually had. She missed him, she missed all of them. She missed Leo’s stupid puns, Mikey’s amazing cooking, and Raphs hugs. She missed them so much and who cares if she shed a couple tears for them. Splinter certainly didn’t.  </p><p>***<br/>-the devices have been installed in all the Belt Icons, and I put it back on April's phone, she will thank me one day. Probably. It’s fine...</p><p> I haven’t told anyone yet, I want to make sure they are working properly. But I do have everyone tracked 24/7. <br/>…</p><p>Okay yeah that doesn’t sound great. BUT TOO LATE to back out now. All the data will be accessible to me via any of my network-<br/>***</p><p>“YES!” April yelled, this being the first real hope since they disappeared. She clicked off the video, not really caring about the rest of it. Not when there was a chance of finding them. Splinter seemed equally eager. </p><p>She went back to the parent file and searched for some kind of clue on how to access this newly discovered tracking feature. It took her longer than she thought, trying to find what Donnie had mentioned in his log. Long enough for Splinter to brew a new pot of tea and return with a fresh cup for her. </p><p>The actual tracking system had been in a completely different folder in a completely different place in the computer. When they saved them, she was gonna have to have a talk with Donnie about his computer organization skills. </p><p>The screen started to load and a map appeared of New York on the monitor. There was one green dot blinking on the screen. Zooming in, she discovered the dot represented her, and showed her exact location.  </p><p>No other dots appeared on the screen though. She started to zoom out, still the single green dot was the only light on the map. She zoomed past the state borders, zoomed past the northeastern part of the country, still nothing. She started to get nervous, she zoomed out to the point where she could see the entire country. After a second of the screen loading, four dots appeared. Her heart skipped a beat. The four dots, each a corresponding color with a turtle, blinked slowly in the middle of the screen. </p><p>If this map was correct, the turtles weren’t even in the same time zone anymore. From what the map was telling her, they were somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains. Her hope dissipated as fast as it had come.</p><p>---</p><p>The next morning, Leo was woken by the creek of the lab door. Two large men entered the room, one holding a catchpole. They were followed by Dr. Jacobs, who had a sullen look on her face; she refused to make eye contact with any of them. A second scientist followed her in. A shorter man with a boyish face and bright red hair. He was watching Dr. Jacobs like a hawk. </p><p>“0102 and 0103 shall begin endurance tests today. We will start with aerobic endurance for them. No food shall be given as ordered. 0101, due to behavior concerns, you shall be transported to the island for correction. You shall return at a time yet TBD.” Dr. Jacobs said in a monotone voice, purposely keeping her eyes only on her clipboard. </p><p>The two larger men came closer to Leo’s cage and started to unlock the door.</p><p>Leo decided that if he was going to be sent somewhere due to “bad behavior” he was really going to make things as difficult as possible. As soon as the cage door opened, Leo lunged forward and kicked the closest man as hard as he could. The man was knocked back and gave way for Leo to escape. He jumped over the two fumbling men and landed on the examination table in the center of the room. </p><p>Quickly the dazed man was slowly getting back on his feet, while his companion was already lunging at Leo. He easily avoided the grunt and jumped onto Mikey’s cage.</p><p>“Go Leo!!” Mikey yelled. </p><p>Leo avoided another grab, and back flipped onto Donnie's cage. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing at how easy it was to avoid capture from these buffoons.</p><p>This was almost too easy, maybe he could get out of the room and find Raph. Then they could come back and break Mikey and Donnie out. Yeah, that was a decent plan, now all he had to do was get to the door. Using the guards heads as stepping stones, he bounced off them and flew past the scientists, it pays to be a ninja. </p><p>He was inches from the door when he was hit with an intense pain radiating from his neck. His legs suddenly couldn't move and he buckled under his weight. Unable to slow himself down he slammed into the still closed door. Trying to figure out what the heck just happened, he looked past the smirking goons to Dr. Jacobs. But even she seemed surprised. </p><p>Standing behind her was the red-head. His hand on a small remote, still pointing at Leo. </p><p>“I can understand why Daniel wants him corrected.” The man said, putting the small remote back into his coat. “I can’t believe you have been handling all four by yourself.” He turned to Jacobs, completely ignoring the nearly paralyzed Leo on the floor. “But now that my hands are freed from the whole ‘harpy’ issue, I am more than happy to assist! No more pizza incidents”. He nudged her shoulder. </p><p>“Yes, thank goodness you are here Marcus.” Dr. Jacobs responded, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Her eyes lingering a little too long on Leo’s crumbled form. Marcus began setting up the lab, pulling out different equipment. </p><p>“Why is he still here?” he asked harshly, not stopping his work.</p><p>The embarrassed and dazed goons quickly gathered themselves and grabbed the catch pole once more. Although, they definitely didn’t need it, since Leo was still dazed from the electric shock. Nonetheless, they slipped the loop around his neck and pulled, yanking him up. Unable to stand, Leo immediately fell back down. </p><p>“Why don’t you just pick him up. He won’t be able to put up much of a fight after a shock like that.” Dr. Jacobs offered, unable to allow herself to watch them treat him so rough. </p><p>“Mmm, fine.” One of them grumbled, nudging Leo with a foot. He lifted the red-eared slider with one hand and slung him over his shoulder. They left without another word. </p><p>Donnie and Mikey just watched silently as their second brother was taken from them. The sudden electric shock terrified both of them. Seeing Leo go down in a matter of seconds was a frightening sight that nearly broke them. They were truly powerless here. </p><p> And now that they knew exactly what hung around their necks, their best option was to go along with whatever was planned for them, at least until Leo came back. </p><p>---</p><p>Leo’s head was pounding, and the uneven gait of the large guard carrying him didn’t help either. His body was still drained, but slowly he was gaining some movement back. Though not nearly enough to break free of his current predicament. But enough that he was able to observe where he was going.</p><p>They seemed to walk endlessly through identically white plain hallways, he tried to keep track of the turns but after the 7th left turn, he gave up. This place was a massive maze.</p><p>The hallways slowly gave way to larger, brighter, more open interiors, and windows started to appear. But all Leo could see out of them were trees, an endless forest of trees. So apparently they weren’t in the city anymore.</p><p>They walked out a set of double doors, and before Leo even had time to register he was outside he was bombarded with beautiful, clear, fresh air. The sun was warm and welcoming, and there was a slight breeze. For a second Leo forgot about his unfortunate circumstances, it was a truly beautiful day. But something was off, the air was dry, drier than anything he had experienced before. He wondered if they were even in New York. . </p><p>The guards carried him to a tall fenced area with a locked gate. His legs were finally starting to get feeling back and he started to squirm a bit more. </p><p>“No you dont.” The man carrying him spat and gave him a smack. They entered the gate, and once they were closed in the man dropped Leo hard. </p><p>“Watch the face buddy.” Leo snapped back at him, trying to get up. </p><p>The man rolled his eyes and barked at him to stay while his partner disappeared.</p><p>Leo rolled his eyes right back at him. He looked out onto his newest surrounding, but not much was there. The entire area was surrounded by the tall fence Leo had seen earlier. And the majority of the enclosure was water, it looked like a lake. Out in the distance was a speck of land surrounded by the dark water. Leo gulped, he really hoped that’s not what they meant by the island. </p><p>The other grunt soon returned with a small row-boat. Leo was pushed into the boat and almost fell into the water.  </p><p>The closer they got to the small island, the more Leo realized it would be better called the rock. To call it an island was laughable. It was probably the size of a small car. And it didn’t even have the decency to be a flat rock. It was jagged and steep with barely a smooth spot in sight. </p><p>The most notable thing was the tall, black, steel pole sitting menacing on top with a heavy chain dangling from it. </p><p>Leo had of course been concerned when Daniel had ordered him to be brought here, but now, after seeing what exactly ‘the island’ was. He was downright terrified. </p><p>The small boat pulled up next to the rock, and the men got out. Leo refused to move, not like it mattered in the end. They still had the damn catch pole on him, and it only took a few good tugs to get him on the island. One of them grabbed the chain attached to the pole, and was able to hook it to Leo’s collar. The collar was multifunctional, Fantastic. </p><p>As soon as the collar was locked in place, and the goons left. Leaving Leo alone, chained to a lonely rock in the middle of a lake. He tried to sit down, but immediately found that the pointed rocks shifted under his weight, and would slide down the steep incline to the murky water. He knew if he fell to hard or fast, the stupid collar would chock him. <br/>Ensuring that it would be nearly impossible to rest.</p><p>All he could do was stand and wait, and hope that his brothers were safe.</p>
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